Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Explained

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery is a contemporary art museum at New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. The gallery receives core funding from the New Plymouth District Council. Govett-Brewster is recognised internationally for contemporary art.[1]

History

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery had its beginnings through a gift by New Plymouth resident Monica Brewster (nee Govett 1886–1973) who transferred £50,000 in stocks, funds, shares and securities to the City of New Plymouth in 1962. The fund was to establish and develop a public art gallery (in1970, the year the gallery eventually opened, she would make a second bequest for £72,000 to start a permanent art collection).[2]

In 1967 a 24 year old Australian teacher John Maynard arrived in New Plymouth having been appointed director to develop a contemporary art gallery. Maynard had no interest in setting up a conventional local body gallery and after touring the country saw that, “artists are where the action is.’[3]

Maynard oversaw the Regent cinema building conversion by New Plymouth architect, Terry Boon[4] and developed the collection policy that focused on new forms of art and sculpture fostering the development of artists from New Zealand and the Pacific Rim and allowed for the deaccessioning of unwanted items.[5] The gallery opened on 22 February 1970 with the exhibition Real Time[6] by Leon Narby. Art critic Hamish Keith described the installation as, 'setting New Zealand art off to the kind of start it should have in the Seventies…Real Time has as its basic mechanism real life, and that itself is a major breakthrough.’[7]

1998 extension

The gallery opened an extension designed by New Plymouth firm Boon Cox Goldsmith Jackson in 1998. The extension was principally undertaken to provide exhibition and storage space for the Len Lye Foundation Collection along with a dedicated education space.[8]

Len Lye Centre

The Len Lye Centre is an extension to the Govett-Brewster, built to display the works of Len Lye. It was designed by Andrew Patterson of Pattersons Associates, New Zealand. It is home to the archives and studio collection of the Len Lye Foundation.[9] Born in Christchurch in 1901 and largely self-educated, Len Lye was driven by a lifelong passion for motion, energy and the possibility of composing them as a form of art. Lye's interests took him far from New Zealand; after sojourns in the South Pacific, Lye moved to London and then New York, where he became known as an intensely creative film-maker and kinetic sculptor.

The Len Lye Centre was opened on 25 July 2015. This is the first gallery in New Zealand to be dedicated to a single artist.[10]

Awards

The Govett-Brewster Art Gallery has received many awards.

Directors

Exhibitions

The Govett-Brewster has produced a number of notable or landmark exhibitions:

Publications

The Govett-Brewster has produced publications to accompany many of its exhibitions alongside stand-alone texts.

In 2016 the Govett-Brewster published Now Showing: A History of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery outlining 45 years of exhibition making at the gallery. The publication was edited by Christina Barton, Jonathan Bywater and Wystan Curnow with essays by Barton, Curnow, Jim and Mary Barr, Rhana Devenport, and a foreword by then director, Simon Rees. Now Showing also included ‘Forty Five Moments’, a selection of illustrated highlights from the previous 45 years of gallery activities with accompanying texts by Paul Brobbel, Tyler Cann, Susette Goldsmith, Simon Rees and Mercedes Vicente.[26]

Other notable releases include:

Shadowgraphs (2016, ed. Paul Brobbel)[29]

Recent Taranaki Photographs (2011, ed. Paul Brobbel & Rhana Devenport)[35]

Study of an Artist At Work (2008, co-published with Ikon Gallery, ed. Mercedes Vicente)

Ghost Towns (2003, ed. Greg Burke)

See also

External links

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Notes and References

  1. Web site: 2009 Recipient – Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. the Arts Foundation. 2009.
  2. News: Shaskey . Tara . 11 February 2016 . The lady behind the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery . Taranaki Daily News .
  3. 7 July 1969 . Govett-Brewster Art Gallery . Arts & Community . 5.
  4. Web site: The life and times of the unstoppable architect Terry Boon . 4 July 2019 . Stuff . en.
  5. Book: Barr, Jim . When art hits the headlines : a survey of controversial art in New Zealand . Barr . Mary . 1987 . National Art Gallery in association with the Evening Post . 0-9597785-4-3 . Wellington [N.Z.] . 39–40 . 21341543.
  6. Web site: Real Time a Light and Sound Environment . 30 January 2003.
  7. Keith . Hamish . February 1970 . Govett-Brewster Art Gallery . Arts & Community . 6 . 2 . 9.
  8. Web site: Govett-Brewster Art Gallery Extension 1998. Gooch. Mike. ketenewplymouth.peoplesnetworknz.info. en. 4 July 2019. 4 July 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190704093652/http://ketenewplymouth.peoplesnetworknz.info/new_plymouth_buildings/topics/show/1965-govett-brewster-art-gallery-extension-1998. dead.
  9. Web site: Govett-Brewster Art Gallery . NZContemorary . 26 July 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20091204011238/http://nzcontemporary.com/public-galleries/govett-brewster-art-gallery/ . 4 December 2009 .
  10. News: New Plymouth welcomes its Len Lye Centre with open arms. 25 July 2015. Taranaki Daily News. Deena. Coster.
  11. News: NZ contemporary art honoured by Arts Foundation. 21 July 2009. Scoop. 26 July 2009.
  12. Web site: Govett-Brewster Art Gallery wins Big ‘A’ Creative New Zealand Arts for All Award. www.creativenz.govt.nz. en. 28 May 2019.
  13. Web site: Best Design Award – Large Brand Identity. Designers Institute of New Zealand. 29 October 2016. 29 October 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20161029044553/https://bestawards.co.nz/graphic/large-brand-identity/govett-brewster-art-gallery. dead.
  14. Web site: Director of controversial Len Lye art gallery suddenly quits. Stuff. en. 27 April 2019.
  15. Web site: Duo to job share New Plymouth's Govett Brewster Art Gallery director's role. Stuff. en. 27 April 2019.
  16. Web site: 23 April 2020. Len Lye Centre co-directors quit to return home. 24 July 2020. RNZ. en-nz.
  17. News: 5 December 2020. Dr Zara Stanhope appointed director of New Plymouth's Govett-Brewster Art Gallery/Len Lye Centre. 4 January 2021. Stuff. en.
  18. Web site: 18 December 2020. Super-sized sculptures come with messages too important to ignore. 4 January 2021. Stuff. en.
  19. Web site: Emanations. govettbrewster.com. 2 June 2019.
  20. Web site: This ex-nun made some of the '60s most iconic art. And it's coming to Melbourne. Time Out Melbourne. en. 2 June 2019.
  21. Web site: Japanese art showcased at Govett-Brewster Gallery . 22 January 2004. www.scoop.co.nz. 2 June 2019.
  22. Web site: Art New Zealand. www.art-newzealand.com. 2 June 2019. 19 December 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191219102528/http://www.art-newzealand.com/Issue106/Clark.htm. dead.
  23. Web site: Te Maunga Taranaki. govettbrewster.com. 2 June 2019. 28 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190528015305/https://govettbrewster.com/shop/books/te-maunga-taranaki. dead.
  24. Web site: City Gallery Wellington. citygallery.org.nz. en. 2 June 2019.
  25. Web site: Taonga . New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage Te Manatu . 'Real time', 1970 . 2 June 2019 . teara.govt.nz . en.
  26. Web site: Now Showing: A History of the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery. govettbrewster.com. 28 May 2019. 28 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190528015312/https://govettbrewster.com/shop/books/now-showing-a-history-of-the-govett-brewster-art-g. dead.
  27. Web site: An Oceanic Feeling: Cinema and the Sea. govettbrewster.com. 28 May 2019. 13 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190413101304/https://govettbrewster.com/shop/books/an-oceanic-feeling-cinema-and-the-sea. dead.
  28. Web site: Individual Happiness Now. govettbrewster.com. 28 May 2019.
  29. Web site: Len Lye Shadowgraphs. govettbrewster.com. 28 May 2019. 28 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190528011855/https://govettbrewster.com/shop/books/len-lye-shadowgraphs. dead.
  30. Web site: Sister Corita's Summer of Love. govettbrewster.com. 28 May 2019. 28 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190528011851/https://govettbrewster.com/shop/books/sister-coritas-summer-of-love. dead.
  31. Web site: Set in Motion Rebecca Baumann, Žilvinas Kempinas, Len Lye, Taree Mackenzie, Ross Manning. govettbrewster.com. 28 May 2019. 28 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190528011856/https://govettbrewster.com/shop/books/set-in-motion-rebecca-baumann-zilvinas-kempinas-le. dead.
  32. Web site: Maddie Leach: If you find the good oil let us know. govettbrewster.com. 28 May 2019. 28 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190528015305/https://govettbrewster.com/shop/books/if-you-find-the-good-oil-let-us-know-maddie-leach. dead.
  33. Web site: Groundworks: Bill Culbert. govettbrewster.com. 28 May 2019. 28 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190528015306/https://govettbrewster.com/shop/books/groundworks-bill-culbert. dead.
  34. Web site: Points of Contact: Jim Allen, Len Lye, Hélio Oiticica. govettbrewster.com. 28 May 2019. 28 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190528015304/https://govettbrewster.com/shop/books/points-of-contact-jim-allen-len-lye-helio-oiticica. dead.
  35. Web site: Laurence Aberhart Recent Taranaki Photographs. govettbrewster.com. 28 May 2019. 13 April 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190413101111/https://govettbrewster.com/shop/books/laurence-aberhart-recent-taranaki-photographs. dead.
  36. Web site: Len Lye. govettbrewster.com. 28 May 2019. 28 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190528015308/https://govettbrewster.com/shop/books/len-lye-book. dead.
  37. Web site: Te Maunga Taranaki. govettbrewster.com. 28 May 2019. 28 May 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190528015305/https://govettbrewster.com/shop/books/te-maunga-taranaki. dead.
  38. Book: Driver, Don . With spirit : Don Driver, a retrospective. . 1999 . Govett-Brewster Art Gallery . Govett-Brewster Art Gallery . 1-86953-404-2 . New Plymouth, N.Z. . 42976941.

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